The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[CreditCrazyI have severe vegetarian]

I've been wondering this for a long time; why didn't the earthquake e(a?)ffect Colossus?

[eblTPR's Olden Goldie]

^ It is "affect" with an "a."

One of the factors as to whether a wooden coaster survives an earthquake relatively unscathed is due to how well it's built, obviously. Wooden coasters tend to flex, being that they're made of a flexible material, but they too can buckle and break, depending on their design and how well they're built, and how the ground moves beneath them.

GhostRider at Knott's has almost as much wood in it as Colossus, despite being only a single track coaster vs. the dual tracks of Colossus. It was built that way because of California earthquake building codes. But that doesn't necessarily mean that should a large quake hit the area that GhostRider will emerge without major damage. Again, it depends on many different factors.

Eric

[coasterking2981When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

I've been wondering this for a long time; why didn't the earthquake e(a?)ffect Colossus?

Because Colossus finally got those Lucky Charms? lol jk

As EBL said, it could be anything ranging from the luck of the Irish to being a well designed/built ride. But I think it really has to do with the soil both wooden coaster sat on. Colossus is probably sitting on well compacted dirt, whereas Psyclone wasnt, so they had to pour foundations for Terminator.

[eblTPR's Olden Goldie]

^ Colossus was built on a section of the original parking lot. Like with Scream!, you could see painted lines underneath it for years.

Eric

[coasterking2981When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

^There ya go

[Sir ClinksalotBitch Please!]

My theory as to why Psyclone didn't fare so well in the Earthquake:

Because God was mad they got rid of Spillikin Corners.

[OldJJmanBorn when stamps were 2 cents]

Because God was mad they got rid of Spillikin Corners.

I concur!!

[MagicMountainManI teach at the school of donkey!]

^ Colossus was built on a section of the original parking lot. Like with Scream!, you could see painted lines underneath it for years.

Eric

You still can believe it or not!

[chickenbowlJason X versus the Robot Space Donkey!]

I have an idea. Magic Mountain should reprofile Collossus and have them race again. If the Texas Giant remodel is a success, it would be smart for SFMM to invest in a RMC remodel or something along those lines to have the trains race. Even just track re-profiling could do the coaster good. It could increase lost popularity for the ride and show that SFMM wants to mantain their classic coasters.
Is this idea even plausible?
If not, a maverick type ride could be sweet for SFMM in the future too.

[MechanicCan you see the donkey in my toast?]

Tim Burkhart has answered the question about Colossus ever being reprofiled to its former glory at past WCB events and has indicated that it wouldn't be changing back. That was before this current conversion of Texas Giant though. I wouldn't be surprised if the question comes up again, particularly since there's a new variable in the equation now.